Pochettino said teenager Shaw's England elevation can aid the fight to fend off the circling Manchester City and Chelsea, with both Barclays Premier League giants keen on prising the 18-year-old away from the south coast.

The Argentine manager backed Southampton's England quartet to force their way into Roy Hodgson's World Cup squad for the summer tournament in Brazil.

"That's clearly our intention; we want to keep hold of our young players, such as Luke Shaw: we want to keep hold of our young, talented players, and that's our intention for the future," said Pochettino.

"It's very important that Southampton have four players in the England squad, that's a massive boost for this club, but it also enhances the prestige of this club, so it's a very important thing."

Southampton academy graduate Shaw has joined Rickie Lambert, Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana in the full England squad.

Saints boss Pochettino believes all four have a realistic opportunity to make England's final World Cup roster.

"For any player it's a massive boost to get called up to the English national side, especially looking at the fact there's such a short time until the World Cup," he said.

"It's a great opportunity for them, and it's a great chance for them to actually be on that plane to Brazil."

Proud that Southampton can identify youngsters and turn them into full internationals, Pochettino vowed the club will help the likes of Shaw cope with the transition from Premier League to the England arena.

"We all know Luke's quality, and it's clear that if Roy Hodgson has selected him it's because he feels he's capable of performing well, and complementing Baines and Ashley Cole in that position," said Pochettino.

"Overall it's a positive thing for him and for the English national side.

"It's very motivating for Southampton as a football club, I think we have 17 or 18 players who have been called up to the international break next week at all levels in the club.

"It's great to see that Southampton has the capacity to develop and create new players, especially of the calibre to go on and play for the full England side.

"Getting an England call-up creates a certain stress, because you must travel and compete the entire week.

"That creates a different stress on the player, and it's down to the technical staff at Southampton to balance that stress out, and find equilibrium between the excitement of making the England squad and keeping your feet on the ground, basically.

"Big clubs have players that are well used to playing international football, but when a player like Luke Shaw gets called up for the first time, that can demand a lot more physically and mentally.

"So it's up to us to keep the equilibrium of this club, over time trying to help our international players not see that as such a big demand, physically and mentally."